Communal Sand Pit

We finally got the city to fix our sewer mainline which needed roots taken out every year. However, they seemingly forgot to pass the word on to the sidewalk/lawn repair folks so for weeks we've had this community sandbox in our front yard where the neighborhood kids come dig.

Local Fun in Lowell, MI

We went to visit Oma and Opa in Michigan and had fun swimming in a local lake, collecting bugs, and going to the Lowell County Fair and Rodeo.  The rodeo apparently made a real impression on Anneliese as she kept talking about the men "grabbing and tying up the baby cows."  Liz and I left the kids for a trip to Mackinac Island where we ate dinner at the famous Grand Hotel, the world's largest summer hotel.  While impressive, it was a little creepy how each service role at the hotel was filled by a different race.  We had a great bike ride around the beautiful island.  Driving between locales, we hit the Tunnel of Trees on Highway 119.

Along the whole trip, we've never seen so many strange large plastic animal/character statues (e.g., moose painted like American flag) so we took pictures next to them all.  We kept driving north up to Paradise, MI to see Tahquamenon Falls where we did some enjoyable hiking.  We stayed the night at the Whitefish Point lighthouse, home of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum which was quaint but funny because all artwork on the walls were shipwreck themed...not exactly uplifting.  Dining options in town were a bit limited and we ended up eating at the Red Flannel Saloon twice!  Grandma and John were also able to swing into town for a visit with the kids.

Ethan's Birthday Pool Party

We finally held a birthday party for Ethan and went for the pool party theme again.  The weather had been less than hot (normally holds off until late August) but the sun at least came out.  The highlight was testing out the inflatable slide we purchased for the same price as a rental.  No idea how many uses we'll get out of it before it breaks but I figured I was breaking even after one use so who cares.

Habitat for Humanity

At my suggestion, my church signed up for its first Habitat for Humanity project.  It was similar to the other time I'd volunteered in that it was for their Brush with Kindness program where they just fix up an existing home (doesn't surprise me given there isn't much land affordable land anywhere close).  My pastor and I were dumb enough to volunteer for running electrical in the attack which wasn't too bad until the sun started to turn it into an oven in the afternoon.

Stroller Strides Day at the Beach

 We had a Stroller Strides beach party which was fun.  We attempted another sand castle and this one was equally tall.  This sand at this beach is very easy to use.  I brought out my improvised castle mold made from a tub with the bottom cut out.

Disney California Adventure

We went to Disney California Adventure this weekend. Thankfully Ethan was able to recover from our questionable parenting decision to put him on the Hollywood Tower of Terror as his very first ride in the part. He was pretty much ready to go home after that.

Moving to Monterey for a Year!

I found out that I was selected as Boeing's candidate to attend the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA for a year to get a Master's degree in Astronautical Engineering.  I couldn't be happier being given the opportunity to get my masters degree full time which effectively means I don't have to miss out on time with my family to get an education.  Although we're a bit frazzled with the prospects of finding a place to live and how everyone will adjust, we are all excited.

Ethan Practicing Writing

Here's an interesting example of Ethan's writing practice: Diaper Griffen Party.  Griffen is the boy down the street and we can only hope those three words are unrelated.

Ethan Turns 5!!!

Happy birthday Ethan!  Ethan got some Lego sets including a 20+ pound bag of scrap pieces which should stimulate his creativity given the lack of any provided instructions for designs.

Beach Day

We went to a party at the "beach" (really a harbor) and had a great time.  Lots of kids helped out with my sand castle, Ethan attempted skim boarding and made Liz pull him around on a goodie board.

4th of July Bike Parade

Ethan and I at the last minute elected to participate in The Great American 4th of July Kids Bike Parade in Long Beach.  We were definitely lacking in the decorations department (see examples here) and the weather wasn't fantastic but it was fun.